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B-52 bombers are off to rebuff Iran after threats to US troops; DoD won’t say what those were
Military,Times,
7 May, 2019
“I don’t want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take," Pompeo said, adding that the threats are separate from deadly events that took place in Gaza and Israel recently, the Associated Press reported.
B-52 bombers are off to rebuff Iran after threats to US troops; DoD won’t say what those were
Military,Times,
7 May, 2019
The
Pentagon is deploying a B-52 bomber task force alongside the Abraham
Lincoln Carrier Strike Group to the U.S. Central Command area of
operations amid threats of “heightened Iranian readiness to conduct
offensive operations,” according to defense officials.
While
the carrier strike group was already planning to visit the region,
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan ordered the vessels to
go earlier than scheduled, canceling a port visit to Croatia, and
expediting transit to the region, the Pentagon said in a series of
responses Tuesday to provide more insight into a decision announced
this weekend.
While
the U.S. Air Force is also deploying B-52 bombers to the region,
CENTCOM declined to say which squadrons are being tapped.
Officials
did not provide a specific timeline for either deployment, nor would
they say where specifically the aircraft and ships would operate,
though carrier strike groups have sailed through the Arabian Sea and
the Persian Gulf on similar missions.
The
exact nature of the threat that was received was also not provided by
the Pentagon. The mission comes as Iran is expected to announce plans
to withdraw from parts of the 2015 nuclear deal this week, one year
after the U.S. abandoned the agreement.
The
shift in assets to CENTCOM was in response to “recent and clear”
indications that the Iranian military or its proxy forces were making
preparations to possibly attack American troops in the region,
according to Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a CENTCOM spokesman.
“U.S.
Central Command requested the additional forces to protect U.S.
forces and interests in the region and to deter any aggression,"
Urban said. "A number of factors define credibility but they are
all related to the sources and methods through which information is
obtained, which is not something we are going to be able to talk
about.
The
possible attack includes “threats on land and in the maritime,”
Urban said. "We are not going to be able to provide detailed
information on specific threats at this time.”
Urban
added
that commercial shipping has been alerted to the threats.
The
carrier strike group has more than 6,000 sailors attached to it,
according to Navy Lt. Cmdr. Joe Hontz, U.S. European Command
spokesman.
The
vessels in the strike group include the aircraft carrier Abraham
Lincoln with its carrier air wing, the cruiser Leyte Gulf, and the
destroyers Bainbridge, Gonzalez, Mason and Nitze.
National
Security Adviser John Bolton said that the bombers and vessels are
being sent to the region to deliver “a clear and unmistakable
message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States
interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting
force.”
“The
United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are
fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,”
Bolton said in a statement Sunday.
Asked
about what was causing the U.S. response, Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo was scant on details Monday.
“I don’t want to talk about what underlays it, but make no mistake, we have good reason to want to communicate clearly about how the Iranians should understand how we will respond to actions they may take," Pompeo said, adding that the threats are separate from deadly events that took place in Gaza and Israel recently, the Associated Press reported.
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